Van Aert domestique defends Roubaix tactics after Pogacar puncture: 'You don’t wait in this race'

The young Italian rode in support of Wout van Aert and stayed with his leader deep into the race, making it to the entrance of the Trouée d’Arenberg before swinging off. From there, it was a long ride to Roubaix, which he finished alone inside the Velodrome.

The key moment, though, came earlier. When Tadej Pogačar punctured, the pace at the front went up rather than down.

“There was already a selection,” Mattio said to bici.pro. “The group was down to around forty riders and we had five there, so it was going well. When Pogacar punctured, we and Alpecin increased the pace to make him spend energy and teammates.”

The move sparked debate, but inside the race there was little hesitation.

“Roubaix is the only race where you can do that,” he said. “If you wait for everyone who punctures, you never race. It’s part of the game.”

There had been no leniency earlier either. Van Aert lost time with a puncture in the opening sectors and received no help.

“When Wout punctured, no one waited,” Mattio said. “That’s why I had to stay close to him all the time. We have similar measurements, so I could give him my bike straight away if needed.”

The race was already stretched when it reached Arenberg. Mattio did his final turn before the forest and drifted back, but not far enough to lose sight of what was happening ahead.

“I stayed a couple of minutes behind,” he said. “Enough to come out of Arenberg and see Van der Poel ahead of me.”

Even then, he did not think the race was settled.

“I thought it would be really tough for him, but not that he was out of it,” Mattio said of Mathieu van der Poel. “We were getting time gaps on the radio and he was coming back. The signal wasn’t great, but I knew Wout would try everything to stop that.”

Visma had expected pressure from UAE Team Emirates-XRG and got exactly that.

“Absolutely,” Mattio said. “It was the only card they could play, to stress and wear everyone down. We also wanted to keep the pace high, with Wout ready to attack. I did the final pull before the Forest, and from that point my race was over.”

Mattio rode on, eventually reaching the velodrome alone after hearing that Van Aert had taken the win.

“I found out shortly after Carrefour de l’Arbre,” he said. “I was with a small group for the last kilometres, then got dropped and came in on my own.”

For Mattio, it was a first experience of how Roubaix is raced at the front. “You don’t wait,” he said.